Through the Shadows
by Sacrowhunter
Summary: A series of murders has come to the attention of homicide investigation when they appear to have links to a group of people with powers called the Marked. A masked man searches for something he has lost and at the same time so is a princess searching for something in a city too big for her. Sasuke is just as lost as Hinata is, just in a different way.
1. Chapter 1

Through the Shadows

Ch. 1 – A World Covered in Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the theme of this story.

...

Song Dedication

Bullet for My Valentine – Waking the Demon

...

A cloud filled night. The moon peaked through the tiny holes letting little rays of moonlight flood through and onto the streets. Cars drove by furiously hurrying home from wherever they'd previously ventured. It was the perfect night for a murder.

A lone figure stood atop a tall building his face covered by a white mask with blue lines going across the eyes. Red eyes peered through the eye holes into the night. The wind blew his long coat just behind him as he scanned the streets below. It was the perfect night for a kill.

The figure spotted his target, a man in a long brown coat that and a hat to hide his features. They really need to try harder if they want to not be killed. It wasn't even a challenge anymore. He was so used to this now he could practically do it in his sleep.

He ran and jumped from the top of the building he was on to another to keep an eye on his target. The man below was so unassuming of his looming demise. He could kill him and be done with it but what he needed most was no witnesses and to not let any harm come to the package.

That was the job anyway. He could care less for the tiny wrapped item the man nestled to his chest like it was life itself. The job was simple enough, retrieve the package and kill the man carrying it.

"Leave no witnesses," He dropped from the roof and into the alley by where the man was walking. He grabbed him as he passed and threw him into the pile of trash.

The man's eyes went wide as he pointed at him. The words seemed to be stuck in his throat as he opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Y-You're the Red eyed Reaper!"

His crimson eyes glared at the man from behind his mask. Red eyed Reaper was the name that he'd been given because of the color his eyes changed when he used his abilities. Which he hadn't even done yet, but the color still persisted whenever he donned his mask. That's when he became the Red eyed Reaper.

"So w-what do you plan to do with me?" The man asked through a shudder.

"It's nothing personal," he said, "Just a job."

His hand fell to the back of his coat. A long sword unsheathed and revealed itself with the sound of the blade scraping against its case. He held up the blade in his right hand and aimed the tip at the man's throat.

The man's eyes grew wider as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face and fell from his chin to the top of the sword. "Wait, can't we talk about this?"

The man slowly reached for his back pocket and pulled his wallet out. "You said this was a job, well whatever they're paying you I can double or triple it? Just spare me please."

The masked man's face titled to the side for a moment. "It's not about the money."

The man's facial expression changed again. He was going to cry, did he really have to deal with this?

The masked man pulled his blade away and the man tensed look eased. Blood sprayed against the grey brick wall of the alley as the man's body fell to the ground with his throat slashed out. His body twitched once more before ceasing its movements.

The masked figure threw the blood from his blade and sheathed it. He bent down and pulled the package from the dead man's coat. "A man's life for this tiny box, what a waste."

He placed the box in his inner coat pocket and faded into the shadows.

...

Yellow tape covered the entrance to the alley just down the main street. It wasn't too early in the morning that the body of forty-two year old Shinji Mai was discovered by a woman walking her dog. She called in the police and now here he was.

Naruto ran a hand through his blonde hair. This was the third murder this week where the victim's throat was slashed out. It didn't do Naruto any good to see that the police had arrived before him and his group. They should have called homicide investigation a long time ago. Though these murders seemed to well done to not be done by a professional.

"So what do you think, Naruto?" A pink haired girl asked as she came to stand next to him, "This fits our killers MO to a tee."

Naruto looked over the scene with an inquisitive eye. "Yeah I think so."

Naruto walked toward the body. Sitting next to the dead man was his wallet, which he wasn't allowed to move, because it was evidence. He figured that the attack happened late last night or early this morning considering the position of the body and how cold it was. It was mid-October so they had cold mornings and nights.

They were just lucky it wasn't raining the night before. That would have washed a lot of the evidence away but with how much it rained in the city it was just blind luck.

"Sir, we found something you might be interested in." An officer told Naruto as he led him and his pink haired companion toward something they'd found.

The man held out a tiny scrap of paper. Naruto took the scrap of paper from him and opened it. It said, "Sorry" but nothing else was written on it.

"Well what does it say?"

"It says "sorry", what can you make of that, Sakura?"

Sakura put a hand to her chin. "It sounds like they're remorseful or guilty."

Naruto smiled. "This is a change in MO but definitely the same person."

Naruto put the note in an evidence bag and moved to examine the body again just as a drip of water dropped onto his nose. Of course it had to rain, the weather never failed to bring more gloom to the situation.

"Let's return to the station and we can talk to the chief about what we've learned here today." Naruto said and they walked back to his car before the downpour began. They were at the office a few minutes later and with the way Naruto drove they could have been there faster if it wasn't raining.

Naruto pulled an umbrella out and opened the door for Sakura. He put the umbrella over her head as she got out and she mumbled a "thank you" as they entered the main building where their office was located.

Naruto and Sakura flashed their badges as they made it to the front desk. After that they went to the elevator and rode it up to the tenth floor. The doors opened to a crowding of other agents but they just side stepped them and walked towards the chief's office.

Naruto burst open the door and marched up to where a brown haired girl was sitting working through two mounds of paper work on her desk.

"Oh, Naruto and Sakura, you're both here early. What happened?" The chief asked.

"We just finished our investigation of the body at the crime scene that took place last night. We know that it was the same person who attacked before, Chief."

"Hmm, I was afraid of that. I found some information on the man as well that might give us the link between the murders and possible suspects." Chief said, "You might want to check in with the Research Department of Special Cases they may have a lead on The Red Eyed Reaper as well as some information on Marks."

Sakura bowed. "We'll head that way right away, Chief Tenten."

Tenten bowed herself as the two walked back into the hall. The Research Department of Special Cases, or RDSC, was created years ago with the discovery of people with powers called "Marks". These people sacrifice something to attain a special power or ability. Sometimes the price is very small and sometimes they lose everything to attain power. The more you lose the more you gain, that's how the Marks work, or at least that's what the RDSC have discovered.

Naruto knew of one Mark that used to kill in a town where he grew up. It was an experience that left him a little resentful of those who would trade something for power. He couldn't help how he felt about it. Power always came with a price. That's what they were taught about Marks.

And considering that many Marks are cold blooded killers, this wasn't an unfair assumption for him. What other reason would someone search for power? And at whatever cost they were offered.

"Naruto," Sakura snapped in front of his face and placed her hands on her hips once he seemed to pull from his thoughts. "You were drifting off again."

"Sorry," Naruto said. "There's just a lot on my mind lately."

Naruto looked up and noticed they were at the RDSC's door. He let out a breath and proceeded through the door.

...

Sasuke's head hurt. Another late night and little to no sleep would do that to you. He got up from his bed and saw rain falling against his window. He knew it would rain today. It did rain a lot in this city and that was one of the reasons he liked living there. It was probably the only reason if he stopped to think about it. Not like the city offered much else.

Sasuke stretched his legs and stepped onto the wooden floor of his apartment. It wasn't much just a small two bedroom with one bathroom and a living room. It was all he needed though. Big houses didn't suit him anymore, not since he was a kid. And that was too long ago but still felt like it was yesterday.

He walked into the bathroom and washed his face in the sink before grabbing some clothes and dressing. Sasuke looked in the mirror and was met with his onyx eyes and usual solemn expression. He was so used to it now that he figured his face had gotten stuck that way. Sasuke never wore a smile.

Sasuke took another look out the window. It was raining so hard that the window looked like it would cave in any moment now. The tiny water drops sounded like tiny bullets against his roof. Today was definitely a coat day.

He reached into his closet and pulled out a long brown coat but as he was going to put it on he heard his door bell ring. Who would come over in this rain storm? He pondered the thought as he made his way toward the door.

"Hey, let me in, Sasuke!" a voice shouted from the other side.

Sasuke recognized the voice immediately. He sighed as he opened the door to a blonde haired man with blue eyes and a uniform on. He must just be getting off work, Sasuke thought.

"What's up, Naruto?" Sasuke asked as the blonde rushed into his house and out of the rain.

"I just came by to say hi, what's so wrong with wanting to see my best friend every once in a while?"

Sasuke knew better than to let this little rouse go on. He wasn't here right after work for anything other than business. "What do you want?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Oh come on, am I that easy to read?"

Sasuke nodded, not feeling like wasting any more words on the subject without it getting to the point.

Naruto's smile faded as his gaze dropped to their shoes. "Another man was killed last night. He died in the same way as the other two from earlier this week that I told you about."

"Naruto, for the last time I don't want it." Sasuke said not changing his expression.

"But we could really use your skills, I mean with a background in Special Forces, and your military training you'd be perfect for the job." Naruto threw his hands up in a wild gesture but all it did was make Sasuke cringe.

"I don't want to work for the government anymore. Not after the northern war." Sasuke said.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as he found his gaze once again on the floor. "Look, if we don't find this guy soon, the bodies are just going to be piling up. The guys over at RDSC think it's some Marked doing it but the kills seem to clean with the neck wound and all but we did just find some classified information about a supposed package the last victim was carrying with him."

Sasuke sighed as he thought over the fact that he was no longer allowed to know classified information. But here Naruto was telling him everything. He could lose his job for this.

"The package was supposed to be some type of blue prints for a new weapon of some sort. Oh, and keep that on the down low. You know I'd lose my head for telling you this." Naruto said with a little glee in his voice.

Sasuke didn't know how he could do his job without losing that smile. Maybe that's why they were still friends. "I have kind of a busy day planned, Naruto. Can we talk later?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure, oh and don't forget that we're all getting together this weekend. It's Sakura's birthday. You should come and stop being such a loner all the time."

"I'll try and remember that." Sasuke said and bid his friend farewell.

Sasuke turned back to his closet and put his coat away and pulled out a long black one instead. On the floor next to the coat was a white mask. "Sorry for making your job harder, Naruto."

...

She searched everywhere but the dark rainy streets of the city made it too hard to find what she was looking for. She'd just gotten to the city and already she was regretting it. How was she supposed to find her sister in this mess of people, traffic, and to top it all off rain?

She already missed the sunshine back home in her little town. The city was big, scary, and a little nauseating. But she'd come this far, and there was no turning back now. If her sister really was here she'd find her. Nothing would change her goal now.

The sun, if it hadn't already been hidden by the thick rain clouds over head, was already going down. Soon it would be night and she'd have to find somewhere to stay. She held her umbrella overhead and watched the rain fall from its edge. She came to a sudden realization that she had no idea what she was doing in this city.

She felt the looming depression that the other inhabitants of this city must feel on most days with this constant rain. She couldn't imagine staying in this city, let alone living in it. It gave her the shivers and it wasn't just from the cold.

The city seemed to pass her by pretty quickly as she moved a block down. She needed to find a hotel or something to stay at for the night. Money wasn't an issue coming from a well-established family and all. Now if only she could...

She looked up and saw that she'd walked down an alley by accident. "Wrong turn I guess."

"Wrong turn is right, girly."

She jumped at the sound of people walking down the alley behind her. Five men, all looking as menacing as the one standing in the middle, approached her. She looked over her shoulder but the only thing behind her was a brick wall.

How did she always get into these predicaments? Was it really her fault like her cousin had said? That seemed too harsh but it had to be true with her luck.

She tried to speak but found that she'd lost her voice along with the feeling in her legs. What would running do for her? She couldn't run away with nowhere to go. They had completely blocked her in.

"Hmm, this is a cute one. Can I have her boss?" the thug to the right of the one in middle said.

He smiled darkly. "Get her wallet first, and then I don't care."

The men closed in on her. She froze again, not just her legs this time, but her arms followed the pattern as well. She could scream but with traffic no one would even notice. They clearly knew that and must have been watching her for a while.

This was kind of a dark end for her and so soon after reaching her destination. How sad this would be.

A man reached his hand out for her but before it could grab her another person was standing between her attackers and her. A man dressed in long black cloak and a white mask. He had the man that had reached for her by the wrist and was holding him there.

"What, who the hell are you?" he barked at the masked man.

The masked man twisted his arm and threw him back into his group of thugs. "Five guys picking on one girl, how noble."

The man in the middle threw up his hands and signaled the rest to attack him with the bats and crow bars they were carrying. The masked man didn't pull out a weapon but stood and looked at them with his back to her the whole time.

The first man lunged, the masked man dove and caught his bat throwing it at another man before turning to the third thug and kicking him in the head. He dodged and attacked almost like fighting was a dance that he had mastered.

Soon all four of the men that had come at him were on the ground and unconscious. The masked man stood above them and eyed down their leader. He fumbled for something in his pocket. He pulled a gun and aimed it at the masked man.

"I'm afraid that's not going to work." The masked man said.

The man gulped and turned the gun on her. She grew wide eyed as she realized that she very well may die that night still. Even with her mysterious savior standing before her.

The man began to pull the trigger but the masked man already had the gun and was aiming it up. It went off and sent a massive pain straight to her ear drums. It was so loud that someone had to hear it.

The masked man pulled the gun from the man's hand and grabbed the man's face and slammed him to the ground like that. The man's eyes drifted back as he lost consciousness. Standing, the masked man turned from him and to her standing a little ways behind her.

He looked back and began to walk away.

"Wait, don't go." She said and he stopped for a moment. "I wanted to thank you for saving me. My name's H-Hinata by the way."

"You really shouldn't play in alleys, Hinata." His voice was low and gruff. It was almost like it was something out of a romance novel. The dark angel saving the helpless girl in her dire need and then they lived happily ever after.

"I won't, sorry, but can you at least tell me your name?" Hinata asked.

"No," the masked man disappeared just as quickly as he was there.

Hinata looked at the spot he'd stood only moments before and realized that her hair was now drenched with the rain that her umbrella was no longer protecting her from. She smiled. She picked up her umbrella and ran from the alley and toward the closest hotel.

...

Sasuke sat on the buildings edge and let the rain wet his hair. He'd need a shower today and this would only make getting one when he got home more relaxing.

"So why'd you save her?" A black haired man sitting next to him with a cigarette in his mouth asked.

Sasuke didn't answer and just kept looking forward through his mask.

"I thought you traded your humanity for your powers? That seemed awfully kind of someone with no emotions."

"It's none of your concern." Sasuke said and turned to the third member of their group, a blonde woman who scanned the streets below, "Did you find anything, Ino?"

The blonde woman was silent for a minute. "Nothing over here, we should move to the next building."

Sasuke nodded and they got up from their perch. Another unlucky soul was about to lose his life under the cover of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Through the Shadows

Ch. 2 – Investigations Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the theme of this story.

...

Song Dedication

Rise Against – Paper Wings

...

Sasuke titled his head to the sky as the rain ran down the contours of his mask. He turned his face to the sidewalk below his companions and him. He'd asked to work alone but they wouldn't allow it on this mission. It was "too important to stake the whole thing on one Marked" they'd said.

He tried to refuse the mission but once again the reward was too much for him to pass up. After all, when a secret organization held so many chips it wasn't wise to play your whole hand. They'd keep his loyalty for now, at least until he met his goal, and after that he hadn't thought much about.

Ino, Sasuke's blonde companion turned her head abruptly and seemed to daze off into the sea of people getting off the subway below.

"Did you find something?" Sasuke's other companion asked before throwing his cigarette on the ground and smashing it with his foot.

"I did, Shikamaru, but he's with two others." Ino turned to them and said, "They're both marked like us."

Two against three still wasn't much but when his two companions specialized in tracking and information gathering but not combat. That posed a problem. Sasuke could easily take ten men on at once and come out the victor but with Marked the possibilities are unknown.

A Marked's powers are as unique as the personality they have. Any range of abilities is possible and the amount of damage they could sustain was the same. They couldn't go in blind, not like this, and not when this mission was so "important".

Really he could care less about what this mission entailed. He'd learned it was better just not to ask questions. In this case especially he needed to use his companion's abilities. Ino had the ability to read minds and control them if she could find a weakness to exploit. On the other hand Shikamaru had the ability to travel through shadows. Both of these abilities would be very helpful but in the end he would still have to do all of the fighting. And that would be annoying but what could you do.

"So do we close in now or later?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, we're still in the open," Sasuke said and turned to Ino. "Can you find out where they're going?"

"Do you doubt my ability, Mr. Red Eyed Reaper?" Ino asked with a small smile.

Sasuke shook his head and turned to Shikamaru. "I need you to follow them closely after we figure out where they're headed."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll be nearby, but this is a capture mission. So we can't hurt the man they're with." Sasuke said.

Ino titled her head and stared forward. That was what she did whenever she entered someone's mind. Sasuke already knew that from working with her once. She reminded him a lot of someone he used to work with. Not that it made them friends or anything. This was just work and they were companions for now but with no loyalty.

He didn't expect anything more. He'd rather have a complete stranger die than a companion.

"They're headed to an abandoned warehouse at the end of Fifth Street. They're to retrieve someone there." Ino said.

Sasuke looked in the direction of Fifth Street. An abandoned warehouse would make the job that much easier. They're wouldn't be an audience to watch the bodies pile up tonight.

"Good job, Ino. I'll meet you both there." Sasuke said, "Shikamaru, stick to the shadows and keep them within range."

Sasuke turned from them and jumped from the building they stood upon to the next. Soon he was standing over the aforementioned warehouse. It was rundown and in need of repairs but looked almost cliché as the operation center of some shady dealings.

Sasuke slipped in through a broken window, moved silently over the metal staircase above the workplace below. A few old machines used in the factory cluttered the area and made it very easy for him to keep out of sight. He steadied his breathing as he waited for the target to enter the room.

The door in front of the factory slid open and one of the men Sasuke knew was a marked entered the factory followed by another man, also a marked, and finally the man they were after. He had a short trimmed white beard and rain proof coat on but a fedora hid the rest of his features.

"Three more are coming in from your right."

Sasuke recognized Ino's voice coming directly into his mind. If he'd been worried about her trying to read his thoughts he would have killed her already but she seemed trustable. And she was helping him, even if her power was a little nerve wracking.

"Thanks," Sasuke said and received a laugh.

He moved in closer to see three others come in carrying two brief cases. They were clearly trading something, but that wasn't his concern, the elderly man was, and he would complete his mission with no mistakes.

The two parties began to speak. Sasuke moved in closer to hear what was being said.

"Did you bring the money?" the man Sasuke was after asked.

"Sure did, but did you bring the Toxin?" The other man said placing the two suitcases on a table in the center of the two groups.

Sasuke recognized the second voice immediately. It was a voice he'd grown up being annoyed with and now he was in the middle of some pretty shady business. "What the hell are you doing here, Naruto?"

Naruto titled back his hat as the target placed his own suitcase on the table and had one of his Marked bodyguards open it. Sasuke saw a small piece of paper inside but nothing else.

Naruto looked into the suitcase and raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"It's the blueprints to make the toxin." The target said.

Naruto reached for the blueprint but the case was shut by the same Marked who opened it.

"Not until you show me the money."

Naruto laughed. "Of course," he grabbed the first briefcase and opened it to reveal at half a million dollars. "The rest is in the other case but it is all here if you want to count it."

The target nodded and his two Marked bodyguards grabbed the briefcases and their own and walked back to him. "Sorry about doing this but we're taking both, this is a tough economy you must understand." The man had a gun in his hand pointed at Naruto.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that is it?" Naruto clapped his hands together and five officers came around the corner with guns trained on them. "I think this is the part where you give us the briefcases and we take you to jail."

"Can't you do anything that isn't flashy, Naruto?" sakura asked as she walked around the corner with her gun trained on them as well.

Sasuke watched the first Marked man put down the briefcase and raise his hands. His marking showed clearly on his hand.

"He's a marked get down, Naruto!" Sakura yelled at Naruto just as a shard of metal shot out of his palm and flew passed the blonde's cheek, leaving a small cut in its wake.

Naruto jumped to the side behind the tables as he reached for his own gun. The officers behind the men aimed and fired at the other marked. He raised his hands and they became stone as he put himself in front of the target to block any shots that might make it through.

As soon as the bullets stopped firing the Marked with the stoned arms ran and grabbed a police officer throwing him into a wall and cracking his skull. Soon both Marked were on the offensive and the cops had to move to avoid the barrage of equipment being thrown at them. The spears that the first Marked made cut through the table that Naruto was behind.

Sasuke waited for an opening. Between the two Marked bodyguards fighting was the target but he couldn't just grab the man and run. He had to make sure they died before he could grab the man. The only thing that he hadn't expected was for Naruto and Sakura to be here. And he was expected to go to that birthday party the next day.

Sasuke and watched and saw it finally. The opening he was looking for was left open by the spear throwing Marked. He jumped into the air and unsheathed his blade. He landed behind the man and plunged the blade through his heart. The Marked gasped his last breath as he slid from the bloodied blade.

Sasuke flung the blood from his tip and wiped the last of if on the dead man's shirt. He looked over at the other man and the police officers now training their weapons on him.

"Is that the Red Eyed Reaper?" Sasuke heard someone ask Sakura.

Sasuke looked to Sakura and she shuddered under his gaze and raised her weapon on him again. His two best friends could kill him tonight and they wouldn't even know what they were doing until it was too late.

Sasuke looked to his right to see the stone armed man lunging at him and punching downward at him. He moved out of the way and watched the stone arms create a crater in the floor where he once stood. Sasuke had to make quick work of this guy.

He ran at him with his blade aimed at his chest but it was flung from his hands but the stone hands of his enemy. So much for this being a quick job, he thought as his enemy swung slowly at him two more times. Sasuke ran at him again and threw a flurry of kicks at him before turning and jumping away from another strong arm.

The guns fired at them but Sasuke had expected as much. He jumped out of the way as the stone armed Marked blocked the barrage of bullets. Sasuke struck fast, jumping up and grabbing the man's face in his palm.

"This is it how it ends for you," He said in a low tone as his hand caught fire.

The Marked scream out in pain as Sasuke melted his face with his burning touch. Sasuke didn't like using his powers, thought they were a little harsh, but when they were needed he wouldn't hesitate, not even a moment.

The screaming stopped as the Marked's lifeless body fell to the ground in a heap. Sasuke walked away from it and retrieved his sword. He knew all of the guns in the room were now aiming at him. He did just kill two men, Marked men, but still men. That made him a murder in their eyes and why shouldn't it? He was a murderer.

"Red Eyed Reaper, tell me now, are you the one who committed the three murders early this week? If you confess I won't shoot you, not right now anyway, and you will be offered a trial." Naruto was the one who said it and Sasuke could offer him an answer but that wouldn't change anything.

Sasuke turned to look at the target. He moved too quickly for the police to keep up with his movements and he was already holding his target in a firm grasp. A larger shadow enveloped the room and Sasuke was gone with it.

Sasuke reappeared atop a nearby building. He still held the target in his clutches. He threw him down on the rain covered roof and turned to the two companions standing next to him.

"You could have gone about that better you know," Shikamaru said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"We got him didn't we?" Sasuke said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah but only because I used my power to help you escape."

"I had a way out," Sasuke said. This was a pointless argument. "There was a hollow panel beneath where I was standing. I felt it when I was fighting. I was going to open that and escape but your perfect timing was a much more efficient way to escape."

Shikamaru turned from him and sighed. "Whatever, let's just get this job done with already. It's all so troublesome."

...


End file.
